The Little Girl
by LisaCx2
Summary: In the midst of the coldest winter Chicago's seen in thirty years, Kelly finds something that turns his whole life upside down. And suddenly fighting fires becomes the easy part. This story co-written by mom2jlg and Chicago Firestarter. Severide/Shay/Mikayla Chapter 14 and epilogue are both up! Hope you enjoy the end.
1. Chapter 1

This story is brought to you by mom2jlg and Chicago Firestarter. We are combining forces to bring you a Severide centric story that we hope you all enjoy. After all, two brains are better than one, or so we've heard!

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Kelly Severide turned up the collar on his worn, black leather jacket...then stuffed his hands deep into his pockets.

2014 had just begun and he hoped it was gonna be a damn sight better than 2013 had turned out to be.

He couldn't get over how less than six months before he had been looking for a new apartment ...someplace he and Renee could raise their baby. He'd been stunned speechless when she showed up outside of Molly's...nearly six months along. With that his plans to have a baby with Shay had come to a screeching halt. But he was ready to be a dad.

Then everything had gone all to hell...in just a matter of weeks.

Shay pointed out that the numbers didn't add up. He was furious with her. He was sure she was just jealous that it wasn't her with a bun in the oven...but the more and more he turned it over in his head the more he came to think she was maybe onto something. He confronted Renee...and she slapped him.  
But then he came home to find her packing. He tried to talk her out of it...he was just scared...it was such a big change. Then she handed him the test results. It wasn't his baby. It was some guy that she hooked up with in Spain who was the father. She must have fallen into bed with the guy the moment her plane touched down...but it was what it was.

That was just the first of a bunch of crap that just kept snowballing...Shay's dark and twisted journey down the rabbit hole after one of her frequent flyers blew his brains out right in front of her. Benny's slimy power play to take 51 from Boden...so he could run away from another family.

The one good thing was that he had a sister...and he was trying to make a relationship with Katie. So far it seemed to be going okay...but they still had a lot of stuff to work through.

2014 had to be better than 2013. He sure didn't want it to think about it being any worse.

Chicago was in the midst of one of the worst winters in the past thirty years. The snow was coming down hard...but tomorrow they were supposed to go into a deep freeze with wind chills of about fifty below. He was making a quick run to the mini-mart around the corner from his apartment to grab a few extra provisions. He didn't have to work...so he had no intention of so much as sticking his head out the door.

As he turned to corner he had to cross an alley way...and he thought he heard something. He peered down the darkened corridor between the buildings and could just barely make out something moving around the trash cans by the rear door of the hot dog place next to the mini-mart.

What was it? Was it a dog? The wind?

He took a few steps closer. Whatever it was...it was little.

It was a kid.

Kelly quickened his steps to a jog and he almost slipped on a patch of ice. He skidded to a halt just as the little form turned in fright.

"It's okay." he said...trying to keep his voice calm and reassuring. "It's okay...I'm not gonna hurt you."

He knelt down in front of a little girl, wrapped in a dirty pink hoodie and nothing else in terms of a coat. She was shivering as she looked up at him with scared, blue eyes that seemed too big for her little face.  
"It's okay." he said again. "My name's Kelly..."

"That's a girl's name." the little girl said...with just the slightest hint of a lisp.  
"I used to tell my mom that all the time." He told her with a grin. "What's your name?"

"Mikayla..."

"How old are you?"

Mikayla tentatively held up four fingers on her right hand.

She looked like she couldn't be more than two...three tops.

"What are you doin' out here?"

"Hungry..." she said.

Now it was starting to make sense...this poor little thing was foraging in the trash cans.

"Well...there's nothing here that's good to eat..." he said. "C'mon...let's get something inside."

He stood and held out his hand.

Mikayla's eyes followed him as he drew himself up to his full height...then she looked at the outstretched hand with fear and trepidation in her eyes. But hunger won out over fear...and she slowly slipped her hand into his.

It was like holding an ice cube...and after a few steps, Kelly just reached down and scooped the child into his arms. He'd cover more ground if he didn't have to slow his steps so the child could keep up...and the sooner he got her into someplace heated the better.

He took her into the hot dog place...and bought her a dog, fries...and juice. He sat at the counter with Mikayla in his lap, just trying to warm her little body as she wolfed down the food in front of her like she hadn't eaten in days.

After she had scarfed down the hot dog, he bought her a cookie and a hot chocolate...which she made short work of as well.

"Where's your Mom and Dad, Mikayla?" he asked.

He needed to get to the bottom of why a four year old was rummaging through trash cans at ten o'clock at night looking for dinner.

"I don't got a Mommy..."she said in a little voice. "I just got a Granny."

"Well...where's your Granny?"

"She's sleeping..." Mikayla said, her voice trembling. "I try to wake her up...'cause I was hungry...but she wouldn't wake up."

It sounded like the woman was in trouble...

"Why don't you take me to your house?" He suggested, again trying to keep his voice calm. "Maybe we can wake her up together?"

The little girl looked up at him, tears swimming in her big, blue eyes.

"What's wrong?" Kelly asked.

"I don't know which is my house!" she cried. "I never goed out by myself! But I was really hungry!"

Severide gathered the little girl in his arms, hugging her close.

"Shhhh..." he told her. "Don't cry. Don't cry. It's okay. We'll figure it out. We'll find your house."

He continued to rock the little girl in his arms, and she burrowed in against his chest...grabbing a hold of his shirt for good measure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks all for giving this story a chance and for the sweet reviews. Enjoy!**

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Kelly's mind was racing a mile a minute. What should he do? Call the police? Try to find the house on his own? The granny obviously needed assistance. Hell, she might even be dead. But what were the chances little Mikayla would be able to lead him to it? Slim to none.

The food and sitting on his lap helped to establish Kelly as Mikayla's new best friend. She quit crying and seemed to forget her predicament for the moment at the offer of cookie #2. The four-year-old was thawing... her body temperature and her demeanor. She was now talking at a speed Severide could barely keep track of. Trying to concentrate on what was coming out of her mouth and what to do next, Kelly was frozen. This wasn't your basic run in and save someone in a fire. He was saved by an incoming text from Shay.

_Hey where r u? Everything ok?_

He smiled at the text and motioned for his active new friend to be quiet. Kelly put a finger to his mouth as he called Shay's number.

"Your eyes are pretty... like a girl's," giggled Mikayla touching his eyelids apparently not noticing the finger to his lips. He laughed at being basically called a girl twice in the span of 45 minutes.

"Sounds like you're having fun, Kel," answered Shay glad to hear her best friend's voice. With the weather so wicked, she let her imagination get the best of her. She'd been on edge, teetering for weeks before finally falling off with Dawson and Kelly there to pick her up.

Kelly quickly told Shay about finding his new best friend rummaging through the trash dressed only in a light hoodie, the grandma hurt or worse, and how hungry the poor little thing was.

"Oh my God," Shay finally whispered. "Bring her home. We'll call Antonio. He'll know what to do."

Kelly hung up feeling better. Shay. The one constant in his life. The one person who would never let him down.

"Hey, Munchkin. How bout we go back to my place and try to figure out where your house is? We'll find your granny and..."

"Granny says don't talk to strangers," interrupted Mikayla...like she just remembered. She pushed off of Kelly's chest looking...into those blue eyes she'd fallen so quickly for, definitely not the first.

"But we just ate cookies together. We're buddies, right? Besides...my best friend wants to meet you and guess what? Her eyes are prettier than mine," Kelly flashed his grin with the little girl settling back into his chest, a huge yawn encompassing her face.

She nodded her head, resting her full body weight against the lieutenant closing her eyes, the struggle of the past couple of days crashing down on the lost little girl.

Kelly scooped her up, tucking her under his jacket.

He made it back to his place in record time.

Shay had blankets, a pillow, and a comforter on the couch ready to swallow up Mikayla as soon as she entered.

"You wanna suffocate her?" whispered Kelly laughing softly as he deposited the girl in the waiting pile of warm softness.

Antonio Dawson showed up about ten minutes after Kelly.

"Called social services. They've got a social worker meeting me at the station," he started, heading toward Mikayla to take her with him. "Glad you got the last name, Severide. Detective Lindsay's looking for an address as we speak. Should have this wrapped up by tomorrow."

Antonio started moving the massive pile of blankets to the side.

"Whoa," said Kelly softly, pulling the covers back on Mikayla. "Can't she just stay here for the night? Looks like she's been through hell," he continued staring at the grimy face sleeping so soundly on his couch.

Before Antonio could respond, a call came in on his phone. Det. Lindsay and her partner were at the old lady's house, ambulance on the way. Good news, Granny was alive, looking severely dehydrated, but with a steady heart rate.

"Yeah, keep her for the night. I'll call from Lakeshore," said the detective rushing out the door. "She's a cutie, that's for sure," he added before closing the door behind him.

Dawson knew he was violating about ten regulations, but he also knew his partner Voight was all for keeping things under the table and in house. Yes, there would be no arguing from him on this unusual arrangement for the night.

Shay wanted to know every detail, not satisfied with the abridged version Kelly told on the phone. She almost woke Mikayla up with laughter when he re-enacted how she spelled out her last name.

"B-E-N-N-E- double T," she had said loud and proud when Kelly had prodded her for information.

"She's the cutest thing ever," said Shay. "Can we keep her? Pleeeeze," she joked taking Kelly's leather jacket off him, hanging it on the back of a chair.

All Kelly wanted was to hit the sheets of his own bed, but he also wanted to hear from Antonio with an update on Granny's condition.

They would have to wait at least another hour before that came in.

The detective called Kelly's phone. Somehow Severide knew that was not good.

"Bad news. The grandma didn't make it. Suffered a massive heart attack at the hospital," Antonio said to a stunned Kelly. "I'll be by in the morning," he paused met by more silence. "Hey, get some rest. We'll figure this out tomorrow."

Kelly and Shay looked at their peaceful, sleeping house guest. Neither knowing what to say.


	3. Chapter 3

As tired as he was, Kelly didn't get a wink of sleep that night. He just sat up...watching the little girl sleep...wondering what would happen to her.

Antonio would be by in the morning...and he'd have to take Mikayla in. They had to turn her over to social services. That was the law, right? But everything inside him screamed 'no'. Over the years he'd been a firefighter he'd come into contact with every kind of person...every kind of family...and he had a damn good idea of what might be waiting for this sweet, innocent little girl that he was already more attached to than he should be.

Morning and Shay found him still sitting in the chair across from the sleeping child.

"Were you up all night?" Leslie asked incredulously.

One look at Kelly's face told her the answer.

"Go get some sleep..." she told him. "I'll watch her."

Kelly slowly hauled himself up and stretched his arms over his head to work out the knots in his back.

"Who's gonna tell her about her grandma?" he wondered out loud.

He'd bet his bottom dollar that her grandma was the only person Mikayla had in the whole world. And now she was gone.

Shay just shook her head. She didn't want to have to tell this sweet little angel the bad news any more than Kelly did.

Kelly went to his room and out of habit he flipped on the TV.

Tom Skilling on WGN was talking about the severe weather warning...and imploring everyone to stay indoors unless they absolutely had to go out. Schools across the city were closed...most of the suburbs too. The city's entire fleet of snow removal vehicles and salt trucks were working 'round the clock trying to clear the streets.

Red Watch must be having a blast...he thought to himself. But tomorrow it would be his turn. Nothing like fighting fires in subzero temperatures...or pulling someone out of a car wreck when the wind's coming off the lake, freezing skin on contact.

He couldn't let Antonio take Mikayla out in that. The kid didn't even have a coat.

Deciding to forgo sleep, he pulled his shirt over his head and headed for the bathroom. A hot shower would help...help him clear out the cobwebs so he could think straight and make a plan.

After he'd showered, and changed clothes he headed back for the kitchen.

Mikayla was awake...sort of. The little girl had woken up in a strange place...with a strange lady in the room. When she saw Kelly come down the stairs she launched herself out of the nest on the couch and crashed against his legs with her full body weight. It couldn't have been more than thirty pounds max.

"Hey, Munchkin..." he said as he scooped her into his arms. "It's okay..."  
He shifted his grip on the little girl.

"Did you meet my friend Leslie?" he asked.

Mikayla looked warily over at Shay.

"She's my best friend." Kelly went on. "And you know what she does for a living? She drives an ambulance. She drives really fast...with the lights and sirens and everything."

He carried the little girl over to the kitchen and set her down on the counter top.

Leslie approached her cautiously.

"Do you want some breakfast, Sweetie?" she asked. "We've got corn flakes...eggs...toast..."

"Go-gurt?" Mikayla asked.

Kelly made a face.

"She's all yours, Shay."

Leslie stuck her tongue out at Kelly...and Mikayla giggled.

"I'll get you some yogurt."

While Kelly poured himself a cup of coffee, Shay got their little guest some yogurt, a half a banana...and made some cinnamon toast. She transferred the little girl to a bar stool at the butcher block and Mikayla dove into her food with the same enthusiasm she had had when she inhaled the hot dog and fries Kelly bought her last night.

How long had she been without food? Kelly wondered about that as his phone started to ring.

It was Antonio. He was gonna come and get Mikayla, he said.

Kelly walked away from the kitchen where the little girl was chattering a mile a minute at Shay.

It didn't take her long to make friends...that's for sure.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Severide told him. "What with the weather and all...and she doesn't have a coat..."

Antonio Dawson's voice reached out over the phone.

"We been workin' all night trying to track down some family. No such luck. I think that woman was actually her great-grandma...we found some papers in the apartment. She was about eighty-seven. We're gonna go out and canvas the neighborhood...see if anybody knows anything."

"Well...why don't we see what turns up? Before we go traumatizing the kid any more than she already is?" he said. "She can stay here today...and maybe you'll come up with something."

Down at the precinct, Antonio couldn't believe he was agreeing to what he was agreeing to. But he said 'okay'...he'd leave the little girl with Severide and Shay for now.

When he ended the call, he ran his hand down his face. He had been up all night, combing through the dingy little apartment...looking for any hint of who the dead woman was, and how she'd come to be in possession of a four year old child.


	4. Chapter 4

Kelly was venturing out that polar day just long enough to pick up some clothes for their pint sized house guest. Shay had decided on sizes and made a list – several pairs of jeans, sweaters, sweatshirts, a coat that could warm someone living in Siberia, tennis shoes, and underwear and socks.

They'd quizzed Mikayla on what she had at home, and it didn't sound like her closet was overflowing. They knew the grandmother had done the best she could, probably on a small fixed income. Neither roommate wanted to approach the subject of Granny… of what had happened.

"What's your favorite color, Munchkin?" asked Kelly hoping to and keep the little girl's mind off of where her grandma was for a little while longer.

"Rainbows! I love rainbows… blue, burple, green, pink...burple!" Mikayla began happily bouncing up and down in her chair.

Okay, so bright colors, and he'd be safe. Shay was going to get her in the bath or shower while he was gone. He couldn't help but notice and smile at how excited his roommate was to have the little girl in their house. He tried to push back the thoughts of how close they'd come to having a baby of their own. If she'd ended up pregnant on that dreadful day of the prison fire, if things had played out another way. Who knows?

Oh well...no sense in going there now, he thought. What's done is done. The words of his mom did come tumbling through as he finally forced himself out the door and into the car.

"Well, we bought him a collar and a bed. I'd say he's pretty much staying," his mom told him after he brought home a pitiful, flea ridden mutt of a dog he found playing in the neighborhood when he was eleven. That scruffy dog ended being his best friend that terrible year… the first year it was just Mom and him.

Kelly left, clearly on a mission and made quick time with his purchases. He knew their little sweetie wasn't going to be all rainbows and happiness for long. Shay would have to field some difficult questions, and he wanted to be there.

The sales lady was more than helpful, so he found himself heading back home in about an hour. He'd found everything on the list...although buying little girl underthings was really awkward. Definitely not the kind of underwear he was used to buying.

He couldn't resist buying a few toys...and a couple of books.

What? Everything was dirt cheap after Christmas...

When he got back to the apartment, Mikayla was settled in Shay's lap on the couch, eyes red and nose runny. She was clean, so that was an improvement, but the look on both girls' faces told him he'd missed the conversation about where Granny was.

"Kelly!" the little girl yelled, leaping up from Shay's arms. She ran at him and grabbed his legs before he could even set down the bags of clothes.

This was even better than that dog he'd picked up when he was eleven... he thought with a smile.

"Munchkin! Whoa, let me put this down before you knock me down," he joked barely feeling her weight. He threw her up in the air a little before catching her and resting her on his hip. His eyes met Shay's and he knew Shay had told the munchkin that her grandmother was gone.

"Wes-wee said Granny goed to heaven," she said softly, resting her head against Kelly's chest.

"Yeah...she did," Kelly answered just as softly, rubbing his hand up and down her back. What else was he supposed to say? Damn, this was harder than he thought.

His entire world had been turned upside down by this little thing in the span of 24 hours.

As if on cue, a knock at the door startled all of them... and saved Kelly from having to say anything else.

Antonio Dawson entered with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, you!" he said heading straight to Mikayla .

He reached out to rumple her silky, baby soft blonde hair...that was all clean and shiny now.

Kid definitely cleaned up good.

"I've got some really good friends who want to meet a pretty four-year-old girl!" he told her.

Antonio motioned his with head to the counter. Kelly nodded, then snaked his way out of Mikayla's grip and deposited her back on Shay's lap.

"I've gotta talk to Antonio for a sec. You fix Shay's hair. It's a mess."

Mikayla giggled and proceeded to smooth out the other blonde's hair.

"We lucked out," said Antonio. "One of my best families. Really a good couple. They've taken in quite a few foster kids over the years and they agreed to take this little one."

"Really?" questioned Kelly. "Shay and me, we don't mind watching her for a few more days."

"Listen... it'll be easier the sooner we can get her transitioned. The Garcia's, Elena and Patrick. Early fifties, religious, live in a good neighborhood. They've taken in some of my special cases. They haven't fostered in a few years, but I gave 'em a call and…"

"Fifties? That old?" asked Kelly.

"Severide, she was being raised by a great grandmother." Antonio sounded exasperated. He was running on fumes and about three pots of coffee at this point. "These people'll look like teenagers to her. C'mon, you should be thrilled about this."

"No, I am. That's great." Severide said, back pedaling quickly. " I just... want to make sure she'll be okay."

"They're really sweet people. Honest, you're gonna like them," Antonio reassured him. "Listen, here's the address. Sorry I can't go, but Voight's on my ass about this and about a hundred other things. I gotta run."

Detective Dawson leaned down, giving the little girl a kiss on the forehead.

So, Kelly thought he'd missed the most difficult conversation of the day, but he was apparently in for another, right now. They were dropping Mikayla off at a strange place with strange people. Shit.

'How do I even start this one off?' he thought.

Shay had heard every word. Apparently, so had the little angel.

"Are we goin' bye-bye?" asked Mikayla with eyes brimming over ready to spill.

Shit.

"Yeah, we are," answered Shay with eyes about as full as the girl's on her lap. "There's a nice couple, a really good mommy and daddy who want you to come stay with them."

"You and Kelly are nice," Mikayla said in a quivering little voice.

This was not gonna be easy, thought Kelly.

"Hey, we're just gonna go meet 'em... and if we don't like 'em, then we're headin' right back here. Okay?" he asked swinging her back into his arms.

But Shay gave him a look that told him he'd just said the wrong thing.

The Garcia's were nice. Kelly reluctantly admitted it to himself about forty minutes into the visit. They were loving and definitely pros at this fostering thing. They made all three feel so comfortable and insisted on everyone eating dinner together.

Mikayla was settling in nicely and not hanging onto Shay or the lieutenant as much. But when dessert was over and Kelly mentioned an early shift in the morning, that's when things got rough.

Rush into a burning building that was about to collapse, no problem. But try to pry little fingers off of his leg, that's where things got tricky.

It was the quiet way that one hand wouldn't let go of Kelly's leg with the other hand holding onto Elena Garcia's hand that silently broke his heart. And Jesus, the little tears rolling down the cheeks didn't help. Kelly was about to say to hell with it, let's just go back home when Shay broke in.

"Mikayla. I got a great idea," she began getting down on her knees to look the little girl in the eyes. "Kelly and I don't have to work Saturday, so why don't you come over? We'll have fun."

She looked sheepishly at the Garcia's...realizing she should have gotten their permission first.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," said Elena Garcia picking Mikayla up, forcing her to let go of Kelly's leg.

"What we gonna do?" the little girl asked wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

"I know there's gonna be ice cream involved," said Kelly smiling broadly. "Shay practically lives on ice cream."

"Pwomise?" asked Mikayla softly. "Pwomise you won't go somewhere else?"

"We're comin' to get you on Saturday, for sure, 100 percent, cross my heart and hope to die," answered Kelly.

Shay reminded them all of the early shift they had.. but neither roommate looking forward to being back at Station 51. Cold days like this made for dangerous conditions. Fires from space heaters pulled too close to the bed. People using their stoves to heat freezing apartments. People getting frostbite just walking to their cars. Accidents...lots and lots of accidents. Car wrecks, slip and falls...you name it, chances are they were gonna see it.

They were quiet all the way home, and they both went straight to bed. Morning would be there soon enough.

The next day, Dawson barely had time to quiz Shay about their little visitor before a call came in. Antonio had filled her in on the basics, but she wanted to know how Kelly found her, all the details.

"Jesus, can't you wait till I get my damn coffee?" Kelly said. He was already grumpy and the shift had barely even started.

"Engine 51…Truck 81…Ambulance 61…Squad 3. Car submerged…"

"You gotta be kiddin' me," Severide groaned, throwing his just opened newspaper to the side. The thought of a water rescue in these temperatures did not sound like the way he wanted to start the day. They were tricky enough in perfect conditions. But now, the cold was downright brutal.

"You squad guys have all the fun," chuckled Casey slapping his friend on the back as he ran past him to get on the truck.

"Oh yeah...frickin' barrel 'a laughs..." Kelly grumbled as he picked up his step.


	5. Chapter 5

The team finally pulled back into the station.

Good God...why couldn't people who didn't know how to drive in the ice and snow just stay the hell at home?

Some idiot had taken a curve too fast...hit a patch of black ice...and gone careening through the guard rail into an off-shoot of the river. The good news was it was only about ten or twelve feet deep.

The bad news was the car still sank right to the bottom.

Severide hopped down from the back of the Squad where he had pulled off his wet suit. He had every intention of standing under a shower as hot as he could stand for as long as the water held out. He didn't give a damn what McLeod's stupid Wizard had to say about it.

He passed Casey on his way to the locker room.

"How was the Polar Plunge?" Casey kidded.

Truck hadn't really had to roll on this...they helped tug the victims out on the rescue lines...they sunk a ladder down. But it was Squad's show, really.

"Maybe I'll tell you once my teeth stop chatterin'." Severide grumbled at him.

He didn't get very far when his phone went off.

What now?

He took the offending device from his pocket and saw that it was Antonio.

"Severide..."

He listened for a moment.

"WHAT?! How the hell did THAT happen?!"  
Everyone stopped in their tracks to stare.

"I'm on my way!"

Kelly ended the call and ran for the locker room to grab his jacket and his keys. As he headed for the door he hollered back over his shoulder.

"Tell Shay to call me the minute she gets back!"

He jumped into his car and roared off down the street.

Mikayla had run away from the foster home.

It had happened earlier that morning. Apparently she had gotten out of the Garcia's house and snuck onto a CTA bus. Now she was at the 34th precinct...and waiting for Social Services.

Kelly didn't quite understand how Antonio had gotten the 411, but he was about to find out.

Parking was hell with the city's snow removal laws in effect...but after four trips around the block he managed to find a spot not too far from the police station. Which was good since he was still shivering from the dive and he only had his Squad jacket on.

It'd be a damn miracle if he didn't end up with pneumonia.

Antonio was waiting for him.

"What the hell happened?" Severide demanded. "You said these people knew what they were doing! You said everything was gonna be okay!"

"Don't get your shorts all in a bunch..." Antonio started.

"Don't tell me what to do! I wanna know how a four year old got out on her own and snuck onto a bus...and how she ended up here!"

Detective Dawson sighed.

"C'mon...the kid's down the hall."

He led Kelly to an interrogation room where a female officer was watching Mikayla. The little girl was sitting on her knees, with a bunch of hi-lighter markers and some paper, drawing rainbows. There was a carton of milk beside her and the remains of a strawberry frosted doughnut beside her.

When the door opened, she looked up...and when she saw Kelly come in she jumped up and flew into his arms.

"Kelly!" she cried happily. "I was lookin' for you!"

"Well...you found me. What happened, Munchkin? Why'd you run away?"

He carried Mikayla back to the table and sank down into the chair. The little girl clung to him like a monkey as she told him the story.

"The lady and the man was real nice...'dey gived me a soft bed to sleep on...and they let me pick out a kitty to sleep with...so I wouldn't be lonely."

"Okay...that sounds good." Kelly said.

"And when I woked up...the lady put me in the new clothes you boughted me." she went on. "See my shirt?"

She pointed to the pink and grey "Hello Kitty" sweatshirt he had got.

"It matches my pants!" Mikayla said happily.

The sales clerk at the store had given him a pair of pink jeans with hearts all over...and he bought them.

"I see..." he said. "You look pretty."

Mikayla smiled ear to ear at his praise. Then she went on with her story.

"So the lady taked me downstairs and she ask me what I want for breakfast...an' I said go-gurt. But she didn't have no go-gurt! She said she had oatmeal!"

The little girl made a face.

"But you and Wes-wee got go-gurt...so I 'cided to go to your house! When the lady wasn't lookin' I put on my coat and I goed."

"How'd you get on the bus?" Kelly asked.

"'Dere was peoples waiting...so I goed with them. An' I ask a lady if she can help me find my friend." Mikayla said.

Then her eyes filled up with tears, and her little lip began to tremble.

"But she didn't help me! She maked the bus driver stop and she call the police! An' the police comed...and I had to ride in the car!"

Kelly hugged the little girl close.

"It's okay, Munchkin." he said. "It's okay."

"An' dat policeman was a big meany!" Mikayla pouted. "He didn't turn the lights on...even when I aksed him to! He said 'no'!"

Antonio came back into the room and he signaled Kelly to step out in the hall.

"Hey...why don't you make me a pretty picture for my locker at work?" Kelly said. "I gotta talk to Detective Dawson for a minute, okay?"

He placed a little kiss on Mikayla's head, then extracted himself from her arms.

He and Dawson stepped out into the hall.

"So...she got on a bus..." Antonio started. "And she says to some lady...'Can you help me find my friend? He's a fireman...and he works at a fire station'.

Severide wiped his hand down his face.

"And the lady called 911...and they brought her here. I still don't know how they figured out I was involved. I didn't exactly do everything 'by the book'." he said.

"So what happens now? Are you takin' her back to the Garcia's." Kelly asked.

But Antonio shook his head.

"The folks here...they called Social Services before I got the call. They're waitin' on a case worker to get here. Mikayla's gotta go in the system. There's nothin' I can do about it. It's outta my hands."


	6. Chapter 6

No amount of arguing, threatening, and finally pleading could change the fact that Mikayla was in fact in the system. Kelly tried it all, but Social Services would not be swayed. Or rather Mr. Ramirez would not be swayed. Severide had a sneaky suspicion if it was a Mrs. Ramirez, or better yet a _Miss_ Ramirez... there might be a different outcome.

Social worker Ramirez was overworked, underpaid, and not happy about a four-year-old on a bus...alone.

"Look, Mr. Ramirez, I completely agree with you. There's no excuse, but ya gotta understand. She just lost her..." Kelly tried for the third time.

"I don't gotta understand anything, Lieutenant. I think I have a pretty firm grasp of the situation. If she'd gone through the proper channels, this never would've happened. This whole situation could have ended a lot worse. Much, much worse."

Kelly didn't even want to think of that. He knew they'd dodged a bullet. But the bigger issue now was that this little girl needed him and he was not brushing that to the side.

Just then Shay rushed in. She ran toward Kelly, totally ignoring the man in front of him.

"Where is she? Jesus, Kel. On a bus? Alone?" Shay was a flustered mess.

"It's okay. She's okay." Kelly said as he threw her a look that said to calm way the hell down.

They needed to at least appear sane if they were gonna have any chance of helping out the little girl.

"Shay, this is Mr. Ramirez, the social worker assigned to her case." he told her.

Just then Shay remembered an important message.

"Kelly, Boden needs you to call..." Shay started just when Severide's phone started vibrating in his pocket.

Chief. Shit.

"Hey Chief, I'm sorry about this. I'll be back in a few..."

"Unless someone's dead, you better get your ass down to LaSalle and Adams. A crane crashed through the twenty-third floor of the Field building. You are the Squad's lieutenant, and you have a new guy on your team." Boden hung up before Kelly could say one word.

"Goddammit!" Severide cursed wanting to throw his damn phone.

"I got Spence from 28 to fill in for me. I got this. You go," Shay pushed at Kelly moving him slightly to the exit.

He resisted.

"Shay, she's so little."

"And she's not ours. She's not. We're going to do everything we can, but she's not ours. I'm staying. I'll call you when I know what's going to happen. Okay?"

Kelly knew his roommate was right. Didn't make leaving any easier. He also knew he couldn't tear away from another leg hold, so he took Shay's advice and ran into the room, gave Mikayla a quick peck on the forehead, and was out the door. Shay swept in and started braiding Munchkin's hair leaving little time to realize that Severide was gone. Kelly said a silent thank you that the little one's attention span rivaled that of a squirrel's.

As he drove through the streets heading for the Loop, Kelly tried to clear his head knowing distractions could be deadly. But, Jesus, four-year-olds could be damn distracting.

He pulled up on the scene to a fuming Boden and a crane half inside the 23rd floor.

Mills, the newest team member Boden referred to, was chomping at the bit talking to Kelly before he even got out of his car. He handed the lieutenant his gear and Kelly began throwing it on while they walked toward the building.  
Casey and his men were clearing out the stragglers and working their way up. Crane didn't cause any major structural damage, so at least there was no worry of a collapse.

"Mills, Clarke, let's get up there and see what we've got," said Kelly passing a Halligan to Pete and grabbing a saw to match the one in Clarke's hands.

When they got to the wall and window that had a crane crashing through, they all heard the screams. Loud, pain filled, panicked. They all picked up the pace to find a pair of legs sticking out from a desk, a very crushed desk...the top of the crane smashed through it.

"We need Dawson up here. Now," called Kelly moving to the side of the victim.

The screams were a good sign, meant the guy was alive. The desk was crushing his chest but moving the thing was not gonna be easy. The tip of the crane was face down almost spearing the desk, putting pressure on the desk, and in turn on the man's torso.

"Hey, can you hear me?" The screams came to sudden end. "Mills, let's get that thing over here," said Kelly motioning to a nearby desk. The two quickly moved the desk against the crushed one with Severide jumping on top. Clarke hopped up on the other side knowing what his lieutenant had in mind.

"Mills, get up here and help guide this thing away from us." The buzzing of two saws filled the air. The metal was cut free before Dawson and Spence even got to the victim with Mills pushing the heavy metal safely to the side. A loud gasp could be heard from below.

The day's events were felt in every muscle in Kelly's back and neck, the tension causing his arms to actually shake as he pushed the saw through metal. He jumped off the desk and sat on the floor against the wall watching Dawson go to work as Mills and Clarke lifted the desk off the poor guy underneath. Subzero swim this morning, the stress brought on by a runaway little girl, Severide was definitely taking a minute.

He pulled out his phone and saw a single text from Shay.

_Call me when you can. No rush. Everything okay._

Kelly called her back not budging from his spot, Dawson stabilizing the victim while glancing at her friend. The stress in his face fading slightly before he hung up.

"Shay says she's got a new favorite Dawson," Kelly said to Gabby, as he let Clarke help him to his feet.

Antonio had been busting his ass looking for some relative that could take Mikayla in. He'd just hit pay dirt and located a long lost niece, apparently the granddaughter of Granny's sister who remembered the old woman fondly, even though time and life had separated the two for years.

Gabby looked at Kelly quizzically, having no idea what he was talking about, but glad he had a smile on his face. The first one of the day. She was worried Mills was gonna have to carry his ass out of there.

Kelly could take a breath now and think about that hot shower he'd needed so many hours ago. Maybe, just maybe he was going to get it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for the lovely reviews! Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

When he came out of the locker room after that long-awaited shower, Severide found himself face to face with Chief Boden.

And Boden was not happy.

"Care to explain what happened this morning?" he asked. "You know this house has been under a microscope...and you still go AWOL?"

Kelly wiped his hand down his face.

He knew he'd have to answer for running off like he had...

"Yeah...I'm really sorry, Chief...it was just..."

And slowly the entire story kind of tumbled out. Finding the little girl going through the trash cans...her being out in nothing but a hoodie in the worst storm the city had seen all winter. The grandmother dying...the Garcia's...and Mikayla running away and getting on a bus to find her friend the fireman who worked at the firehouse.

Throughout the whole explanation, Boden stood with his arms folded across his chest...stone faced expression...not saying a word.

When Kelly finished the story, he just nodded, taking the whole thing in.

"So, what are you gonna do?" he asked.

"I have no idea." Kelly said with a sigh. "I have no idea."

Kelly was waiting on pins and needles when Shay got back.

One look at her face, and he knew Mikayla was gone. And she hadn't gone quietly.

Leslie walked right into her best friend's arms. A hug wasn't gonna fix everything, but it was a start.

"How bad?" he asked.

But Shay just shook her head.

After he had taken off, the Garcia's had shown up, totally distraught that this had happened on their watch. They had begged and pleaded and anything else they could think of to get Mr. Ramirez to allow them to take Mikayla home.

But rules were rules...and the days of playing fast and loose were over. From now on everything was 'by the book'.

So Mikayla was transferred to an emergency shelter while they waited for the relative Antonio had managed to locate to be approved.

The woman lived out of state...in Oregon. So Illinois had to coordinate with CPS out there to make sure her home was acceptable...she didn't have a criminal record and whatever. Then they could go to court and she could apply for custody of the child.

Sounded like a lot of red tape.

But that was the law.

This place wasn't nice...

There were lots of beds in one room...one on top of the other. And they wasn't soft like the one at the lady and the man's house. The blankies were scratchy...and the pillows were lumpy. They didn't let you have a kitty or a teddy to sleep with in case you got lonely.

And the food was yucky! You had to stand in a line and mean girls budged you. They didn't have fruit like melon and pineapple and grapes...just apples and oranges and 'nannas. And nobody cut it up like Wes-wee did. She bet they didn't even have no go-gurt.

But the grown-ups didn't care. She told a lady she didn't like it here and she wanted to go to Kelly and Wes-wee's house...or back to the lady and the man's house.

The lady said 'no'.

She was a big meany too.

It was scary here. All the other girls were so much bigger than she was.

Mikayla hugged her knees to her chest as she made herself as small as possible in the dark room.

They didn't even have a nighty light...

Just before shift ended, Boden called Kelly into his office.

What now?

Chief gave him a stern look.

"You and Shay, do what you need to do. You won't be worth a damn around here till this thing's settled, so go settle it," he commanded not getting up from his desk.

Severide breathed a sigh of relief.

He felt like he'd just been granted a stay of execution.

"Thanks, Chief." Kelly said.

And he was out the door before Boden could even say "you're welcome."

Kelly grabbed his roommate and took off, but not before Gabby stopped him.

"Severide, don't forget, you're taking my cousin Gina out tomorrow night. You owe me..."

"I owe you. I know, I know. I'll be at your place at seven. Don't worry."

Shit.

He had forgotten.

Taking out some visiting relative of Dawson's was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew Gabby had gone above and beyond with his troubles last year. He could do this one thing. Shay would be off to take care of the munchkin.

They didn't even bother to go home. They drove right over to the shelter.

They walked in the door, and they were both struck by how cold it was. It was so dark, so impersonal. And this was a place for kids? Kelly scanned what he guessed was supposed to pass for a reception area.

This was a jail. Mikayla was locked up in a strange place with a bunch of other girls. He didn't want to think of how scared she must be. And the poor thing had been there all night.

In his mind, he had a kid to save. This was no different than running into a burning building, grabbing what he came for, and gettin' the hell out of Dodge.

There was a commotion in the office...and the voices sounded familiar. The Garcia's were there already there...obviously on the same mission Severide and Shay were on.

They were showing one of the counselors a certificate they'd received from the city for their work fostering children. They'd brought the whole thing, frame and all, hoping it would sway someone into letting them take the little girl home.

Kelly rapped on the open door with the back of his knuckles. Everyone in the room turned. As soon as the Garcia's saw Kelly and Shay, about a thousand apologies sprang forth...this was all their fault, they were a little rusty, they never thought she would make an escape...

"It's no one's fault," said Kelly seeing how distraught they were. "Now we just gotta fix it."

And he turned his attention on the counselor...he guessed that's what you'd call her. She didn't look like she was any older than his new kid sister.

This was gonna be like takin' candy from a baby.

Of course, it was all for a good cause.

The counselor was bent to Severide's will in about five minutes, Shay watching the whole thing with some degree of amusement. Kelly had skills...she had to give him that. It was times like these that she truly got a glimpse of what women saw in him.

They signed in and got visitor's passes...then they were led down a long hallway lined with little rooms. Looking in, they all appeared neat, clean, but so tiny. They finally reached a common area with a TV, couches, small, half-empty bookshelf, dilapidated ping pong table, some beat up toys...and small tables with mismatched chairs scattered throughout the large room. They waited at one of the tables eyeballing the other girls in the room. All were older, much older. The closest one to Mikayla's age was probably about nine or ten.

Finally, Mikayla was led in looking even smaller than she had the day before. Kelly heard Shay catch her breath, and he thought he was gonna lose it himself. Keep it together, he said over and over again. Mikayla's red rimmed eyes told him crying had replaced sleeping last night.

The moment she saw Kelly, Mikayla ran over and attacked his leg. He pulled her up into his arms and she buried her head in his chest. He wiped his eyes quickly with the back if his hand, Shay reached over, rubbing the little one's back, sniffling as she wiped tears from her eyes as well.

Nobody could say anything.

Nobody dared.

The Garcia's had brought some kind phone with them, a Ladybug, Jitterbug, whatever. Something that called 911 and home only. Because, unlike Kelly, they knew they wouldn't be taking Mikayla home with them today.

They told Mikayla it was hers...and Mikayla insisted that Kelly's number be programmed as "home".

A different counselor, that's what they called them even though in Kelly's eyes they were more like prison guards, agreed to let Mikayla keep the phone in her room.

But she could not agree to letting the little girl leave. No amount of pleading, flirting, or bribing was gonna do that.

"I don't wanna stay here," the little girl pleaded, lip trembling, eyes overflowing again. "I wanna stay with you and Wes-wee."

Sobs broke free and the four grownups were each planning a getaway, some scenario where they could escape with Mikayla.

"We are going to get that to happen," said Mr. Garcia. "It just can't happen tonight, sweetheart." His was the voice of reason. Unless they wanted to be arrested, Mikayla was staying put for the time being.

"They won't let us take you home tonight. But it'll be okay. I promise," added Shay.

"But there nobody to play with..." Mikayla said softly, tears streaming down.

Kelly pried himself away from the little girl's grasp. He stood up and led the counselor by the arm across the room.

"What the hell," he whispered loudly. "Are these kids even kids? Mikayla's no business being thrown in with these...teenagers. We need to get her out of here!" he said.

He thought he had been making a little progress with this woman.

The counselor tried to assure Kelly that Mikayla's roommate was the next youngest one there, an eight year-old, and all the surrounding rooms held girls close to that age. The older ones were housed in another wing in the building.

It still didn't make sense. There were tons of little kids in places like this...at least according to the papers. So where the hell were they? Even Kelly knew you didn't throw a four year old in with an eight year old.

It was even more gut wrenching this time...watching the counselor drag Mikayla away. Shay buried her face against Kelly's chest and he could feel his roommate's hot tears soaking through his t-shirt.

They had to do something. They couldn't keep doing this every day.

Maybe they needed a lawyer.


	8. Chapter 8

Kelly ran a towel over his hair as he stepped up to the sink in his bathroom. Then he swiped the towel across the mirror before he tossed it in the general direction of the laundry hamper.

He started to reach for his razor...then he decided to hell with it. After the day he'd just had he wasn't sure holding a sharp object near his throat was such a good idea.

He had to get over to Dawson's to pick up her cousin...Gina, that was her name. She was in town for the weekend and Kelly was still a little unclear about why he had to be the one to show the girl around the big city...but as Gabby had pointed out...repeatedly...he owed her one.

He reached into the closet and grabbed a clean button down.

At five minutes after seven he was ringing Dawson's doorbell...and at six minutes after seven he decided this might not be so bad after all.

After dinner the girls sat in the common room and watched TV...or at least some of them did. They were looking at some show about a man with a lot of girls around. And the girls weren't very nice.

Just like the girls here...Mikayla thought.

She wanted to watch cartoons...but the bigger girls said no.

Kelly and Wes-wee would let her watch cartoons...

She thought about that...sitting snuggled up in Kelly's lap...watching Sponge Bob...and she smiled a little smile.

The big girls laughed out loud at something on the TV.  
Mikayla didn't know what was so funny.

She stood up and went over to the grown-up lady sitting at the table lookin' at a magazine.

"Can I go in my room?" Mikayla asked quietly. "I don' like it in here."

"You have to stay out here with everybody else." The lady said.

She was the only staff on duty...and she had twenty girls to supervise. No way was she about to let one out of her sight.  
Totally defeated, Mikayla hung her head and went over to a corner away from everybody else. She sat down on the floor and curled herself into a little ball.

Kelly opened the door of his car so Gina could get in

It was still insanely cold and the snow on the ground was camouflaging some ice patches. And Gina was wearing an insanely short skirt and insanely high heeled boots.

He shook his head as he closed the passenger door and quickly hurried around to the driver's side to get the heat going.

All in all it hadn't been a terrible date. He still couldn't figure out why the hell this girl wanted to visit Chicago in the dead of winter...when she lived in Miami. But he'd already decided Gina wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box.

They had grabbed a bite to eat at an Italian place in the neighborhood. It was good food...and not too pricey. He thought about taking her to Molly's...but Gina wanted to go dancing.

Not a chance...

So they decided to just go back to his place...maybe have a few beers...talk...get to know each other...

"Wake up kid!"

Mikayla was startled by someone shaking her roughly.

She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes with her fists...trying to remember where she was.

She wasn't home...she knew that. Then she remembered Granny goed to Heaven...and she had to stay in the bad place with the mean big girls.

"Get up!" the lady said again. "It's time for bed."

Mikayla dragged herself to her feet...and gave a big yawn as she trudged off down the hall.

The other girl...Haylie...started pulling her pj's out of her drawer in the dresser. But Mikayla just went to her bed and crawled under the covers.

"You're gonna sleep in your clothes? That's gross!"

"I'm tired." Mikayla said.

She wasn't gonna let this big girl know she didn't know how to put her jammies on by herself. At least at the lady and the man's house...the lady had helped her. She didn't laugh or nothing.

Kelly wouldn't laugh...and Wes-wee would help her. Wes-wee would give her a bath in the big tub and wash her hair with watermelon smelling shampoo. She would wrap her up in a big pink towel and comb all the tangles out of her hair real gentle.

Mikayla could feel her bottom lip start to quiver as she turned to face the wall.  
She wished she could be at Kelly and Wes-wee's house right now...that they could be her Mommy and Daddy.

Kelly handed Gina a bottle of beer...then he took a long swallow of his own.  
They'd made all the small talk...he knew she had just gotten out of a relationship...and she had come to visit her cousin looking for a little excitement.

She just hadn't thought it would be so cold...she said, looking at Kelly from under half-closed lids. Maybe he could warm her up...

Never slow on the uptake...he set his beer down on the butcher block and crossed the kitchen in only a few long strides. He felt Gina crash against him and her hands lock behind his neck.

Kelly wrapped his arms around her waist and let his hand slide up her almost backless dress. Nature took over as he leaned down to capture her lips with his for a deep, bruising kiss.

They backed their way toward the stairs that led up to the bedrooms.

Mikayla heard the dresser drawer open.

She sat up in her bed and was surprised to see Haylie was in her drawer...reaching in to take burple sweatshirt Kelly bought. It was big...but it was her favorite.

"That's mine." Mikayla said.

Haylie turned around.

"Well, it's mine now."

"No it's not! My friend buyed 'dat for me!" Mikayla said in a loud voice. "You can't touch it!"

Haylie laughed.

"I'm touching it right now!"

Mikayla threw back the covers and jumped out of bed.

"Gimme back my burple shirt!"

Haylie laughed again.

"You can't even talk right!" she sneered. "It's PURPLE...not burple! You're just a little baby!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

Mikayla lunged for the shirt, but the bigger girl held it up over her head.

"'Dat's mine!" Mikayla cried. "Kelly gave it to me!"

Gina moaned loudly and Kelly silenced her with a kiss.

Leslie was just down the hall...and he didn't feel the need to advertise what he was doing.

Shay knew him better than anyone. She didn't need the play by play.

All in all it hadn't turned out to be too bad a night.

His phone began vibrating on the nightstand. And he instinctively reached for it.

He broke off the kiss and turned to glance at the caller ID. It wasn't a familiar number...but he answered it anyway.

"Yeah?" he said.

What he heard on the other end of the line made his blood run cold.

He rolled off Gina and sat up on the side of the bed.

"Mikayla? Mikayla...what's wrong Sweetheart?" he asked.

"Mikayla? Who the hell is Mikayla?" Gina demanded, sitting up and covering herself with the sheet.

Kelly waved his hand for her to be quiet.

"What happened?" he said.

He stood up and started gathering his clothes off the floor.

"It's okay, Sweetie...I'll be right there. I'm coming right now!" he told her.

He ended the call and started throwing on his clothes.

He wasn't a fireman for nothing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Gina asked. "Where do you think you're going?"

In response, Kelly scooped up her dress and threw it in her general direction.

"Get dressed..." he said. "I'll call you a cab."

"What the hell?" she demanded.

But he didn't have the time or care to explain. He yanked open the door to his bedroom and hurried out into the hall, slamming it shut behind him.

Two seconds later he was pounding on Leslie's door.

"Shay!" he yelled. "Get up! We gotta go!"

Leslie's door flew open.

"What's goin' on?" she asked...clearly disoriented after being woken from a sound sleep.

"It's Mikayla!" he told her. "One of those girls tried to beat her up and take her stuff! Now get some clothes on!"

Shay slammed the door in his face and he could hear her moving around the room. He went back to his room and found Gina half dressed...on her cell phone...yelling at someone in Spanish.

He had no idea what she was saying...but he'd bet she was calling him every name in the book.

And he didn't give a shit.

Mikayla was in trouble.

He grabbed his wallet and threw a couple twenties on the bed.

"For the cab..." he told her. "Sorry...but I got an emergency."

Gina looked up at him, fire flashing in her eyes and she let loose with another tirade.

He couldn't take the time to try and translate though. He backed out the door.

"C'mon Shay!" he yelled down the hall. "Move your ass!"


	9. Chapter 9

"I wanna know what the hell kinda place you're runnin' here!" Kelly yelled.  
Shay was trying desperately to hold him back...to get him to calm down. It wasn't working.

"I need Mikayla Bennett out here! Now!" he yelled louder, waking up not only every girl in the place, but probably everyone in the neighborhood.

"Sir! Keep your voice down or I'm calling the police!" threatened the counselor, known in Kelly's mind as prison guard #1.

Shay tried to push her roommate behind her and get a little control of the situation.

But Kelly was an immovable force.

He raised his voice a couple more notches.

"You're callin' the police?! You're callin' the police?! I'm the one who should be callin' the cops! We've got a little girl in here who's been attacked and you're just sittin' on your ass..."

Kelly was out of his mind, and Shay knew they had about five more minutes of this before the CPD came rolling in to arrest a certain lieutenant.

"Stop!" she hissed in his ear balling up the top of his T-shirt in her fist. She got right in his face, and it seemed to do the trick.  
"You're not gonna be able to do a damn thing if you get yourself locked up!"

It made sense...

He exhaled deeply shaking his hands out like a swimmer getting ready for some laps. He took another couple of breaths and tried again.

"Ma'am. We just got a call from Mikayla Bennett that her roommate stole her shirt and beat the crap out of her. We need her out here now, so we can make sure she's okay. Please!"

Kelly's temperature was rising again, so frustrated with the glazed over look of total unconcern on the counselor's face.

"I can assure you, sir, that she's fine. Little ones have a tendency to exaggerate."

The condescending tone of her voice was sending Kelly to the edge. He'd never consider violence against a woman, but this person was looking less and less like a woman to him.

"Will you just get her, so we can see she's fine?" Shay snapped, finally losing her patience.

"Fine."

Prison guard #1 slowly got up and lumbered back to retrieve the four-year-old.

Mikayla came running toward the pair, eyes red, a mixture of tears and snot coming down her face. No visible bruises, just the look of a scared little girl. Kelly picked her up letting her head snuggle deep into his chest.

He hesitated a moment before he spoke, not wanting his own voice to break.

"What happened Munchkin?" he asked softly.

"Haywee took my shirt! My burple one! My most favoritest one you gave me!"  
She sobbed louder pressing her face deeper against Kelly's chest.

"Look at me." he said. "You're okay now. We're here. Are you hurt? Did she do something to you?" Kelly was scanning her face, still no tell tale signs of a struggle.

"She twisted my arm real bad when I tried to get my shirt back." Another sob broke from the little angel sending Shay into her own waterworks.

The counselor headed back to talk to Haylie, swayed into some sort of action by little Mikayla's crying and accusations.

"Let's get outta here," whispered Kelly.

"What? You want to lose your job? To get arrested? Are you stupid?" admonished Shay, not believing what she was hearing.

"Police arresting Kelly?" wailed Mikayla... new sobs breaking out.

"No one's gettin' arrested," he reassured, rubbing the little one's head at a total loss on what to do next.

Shay was right. They couldn't just walk out, but he sure as hell wasn't leaving her there to be attacked again. He squeezed her into him a little tighter with Shay wrapping her arms around the both of them.

Gabby Dawson managed to piece together what happened through the ravings of her cousin Gina. The Spanish being spewed almost too quickly for her to understand was the first indication that she wouldn't be planning a wedding anytime soon.

"El es pendejo!" Gina screamed for the hundredth time.

Gabby established that Kelly was an asshole. Okay. But when Gina mentioned some whore named Mikayla and the pieces fell into place. She was on the phone with Antonio, leaving Gina more convinced that everyone in this damn city was crazy.

Antonio swept into the shelter followed by Sergeant Voight and Detective Lindsay, with the Garcia's bringing up the rear.

Severide finally felt like he could breathe for the first time since coming to the little girl's "rescue". Kelly had run out of ideas and the "rescue" turned out to be him and Shay holding onto the little girl and not letting go.

The counselor returned assuring them that Haylie was very sorry and that maybe Mikayla needed a little lesson in "sharing."

Blame the four-year-old. That was rich! Kelly was ready to unload when Antonio and Voight stepped in. And Severide felt like the cavalry had finally arrived.

Say what you want about Detective Voight, the man could take charge, Kelly would give him that.

"Who's running this show?" the gravel voiced detective asked the clearly intimidated counselor.

"Um, I'm just workin the night shi..." the young lady stammered before being interrupted.

"I'm head of the Intelligence Unit here in our lovely city. And as head of that unit, I'm gonna take custody of this little girl for the time being."

He smiled as if daring the young counselor to say one word. She simply nodded her head.

He pulled out his card and dropped it in front of her.

"I'm comin' by tomorrow to pick up her stuff. ALL of it better be waiting for me right here up front. Have your supervisor call me if there's a problem."

They all guessed there would be no problem. Voight pushed Kelly toward the door and before the magnificent seven could even blink, they were standing out in the cold.

Mikayla went easily to Elena Garcia who assured the little girl that they had a refrigerator fully stocked with yogurt now. Her four-year-old brain recognized that the waiting soft comfy bed was much better than a room with a bully.

"Wuv you, Kelly," Mikayla kissed him on the cheek melting his heart, the anger of a few minutes ago a thing of the past.

"Love you too, Munchkin."

Kelly didn't want to let her go, didn't want to let anything bad happen to her ever again. Staring at those big blue eyes he realized he was done for. Shay always said he fell too fast and too hard. Damn, he thought, this must be what it's like to be a parent.

"Wuv you, Weswee," Mikayla added kissing Shay deep in her blond hair.

"Aw, love you too, Sweetie."

The little girl turned to Voight suspiciously, but before she could continue her slow doling out of kisses in -50 degree wind chill, he patted her on the head tersely and sent the Garcia's on their way.

"You two and Antonio coordinate tomorrow. Now let's get the hell out of the cold before we all freeze to death."

"Thanks, Voight," said Kelly extending his hand toward the detective. "I owe you."

Voight shook it quickly and added, "You bet your ass you do."

Kelly pulled his phone out and groaned loudly seeing two texts from Gabby. Shit. Hell to pay. He didn't need two Dawson women pissed at him.

"Gabby, tell Gina I'm really sorry..." he began knowing the level of groveling that would be needed to pacify his friend.

"Gina's a bitch," interrupted Dawson. "How's the little girl? I called Antonio...did he get there? Is everything okay?"

Gabby had a heart, that was for sure. Kelly gave her the play by play, and by the time he was done he was sure she was going to jump through the phone to strangle that "counselor" herself.

When he paused to take a breath...

"Well, I hate to add to your drama, but Boden needs all of us. Now." Dawson said.

"Shay and I are goin' home. We're not even on shift..."

Kelly knew he was emotionally and physically spent. Glancing at his roommate, he could see the weariness in the lines around her eyes and the darkness underneath.

"No choice, Severide. Some huge pileup on Edens. They're re-calling everyone. It's all hands on deck and Boden said he needed everyone."

Shit.

"On our way." he replied tersely.

He turned to Leslie.

"C'mon...time to go to work."

By the time they arrived, almost every crew available in a 50 mile radius was on scene. And what a scene it was. At least 45 vehicles were involved including several semitrailers. "Huge pileup" didn't begin to describe the accident. It was massive, extending over a mile on Edens. Cars so smashed they resembled crushed cans, smoke coming from everywhere, victims still stuck in their crumpled vehicles...the entire thing looked like a scene from a movie.

Once Kelly identified himself, a cop let him through and he began weaving his car through the fleet of Emergency vehicles, trying to get as close as possible.  
It was a struggle to even locate Boden and the guys from 51.

"Chief!" called Kelly running toward Boden with Shay trailing behind. "Where do you want us?"

Boden handed them their turnouts from the back of the buggy, and they geared up right there on the express way.

"Your guys are on those two over to the right," Boden told Kelly, pointing to where Squad 3 was working to free people from their vehicles.

Kelly could see Clarke using the jaws on what used to be a Ford F-150. Capp and Mills were busting the window out of a Honda Accord, smoke pouring out of the engine.

"Shay, you go with Kelly and triage anyone they pull out!"

As far as Kelly could see, there were cars and trucks thrown around as if an Ancient Greek god had been angered by these tiny humans and decided to play smash up. He shook his head in disbelief.

Mills saw his lieutenant first and he quickly filled in the gaps with what he'd learned. A whiteout initially caused the accident, 18 wheeler jack-knifed causing a chain reaction. Drivers could barely see one car in front, so no time to react. One crashed into another, all of it a huge domino effect with tragic results. At least three had already been pronounced dead with countless others injured, many still trapped.

Kelly didn't like the look of that smoke, so he headed to Capp who was talking to a victim through the driver's side smashed out window. But Shay got in there first and pushed him out of the way, the look in his eyes said to brace herself.

As Kelly came up behind Shay, he saw a woman, maybe late thirties, face as white as the ground outside. Her shirt was white on the sleeves, but the entire front was a dark red, a sickeningly wet crimson. The steering wheel looked like it was lodged in her...actually half inside her stomach. The backseat was crushed into the front, making the car appear half its original size.

"Clarke!" Kelly screamed. "I need those jaws over here!"

Severide saw a flash, a hint of some movement coming from the mess of a backseat. He wiped the back window roughly, clawing away some of the ice. Cupping his gloved hands over his eyes, he peered in. He saw a tiny hand peeking out from the side of one of the seats.

"Clarke!...Jaws!...Now! There's a kid in here!"


	10. Chapter 10

Kelly grabbed the jaws right of Clarke's hands...and attacked Honda with a vengeance. Time was of the essence. Smoke was pouring out from beneath the hood of the car. Capp and Mills were working feverishly to try and free the woman from the driver's seat...but in all honesty, she looked like she was a goner.

Hopefully this kid had found a pocket back there and he wasn't hurt too badly.  
Clarke came back with the spreader and a ram...and between the two men and three pieces of hydraulic equipment they managed to make a hole big enough for Kelly to reach in.

He shined the high powered flash light into the car...and he saw a little boy. He looked like he was about the same age as Mikayla. He had huge brown eyes that were open wide with fear. His face had some blood on it...so did his shirt.  
Damn it...they probably wouldn't be able to just pull him out.

"Get Shay over here!" he yelled.

She or Dawson might be able to get into the hole. They could assess whether or not the kid needed to be boarded and collared. Something that required room to maneuver.

He turned back to the boy.

"Hey, Buddy...my name's Kelly. What's yours?"

"Frankie..."

"Do you hurt anywhere, Frankie?" he asked.

The little boy's lip trembled.

"I don't know! I did! I hurt real bad! But now I don't know!"

"It's okay..." Kelly said quickly. "We're gonna get you outta there..."

Kid was prob'ly scared half to death...

"Move it, Kelly." Shay said as she came up beside him. "What do we have?"

"Little boy...he's awake...he's alert...but I can't get in there."

"Move..." she said again.

Severide got out of the way and he went to check on what progress Capp and Mills were making.

It was slow. Too slow.

Clarke yanked off his glove and reached into the smashed window. He felt around for a carotid pulse...and after a minute he looked at his teammates and shook his head.

Make that four...

"I'm gonna need some help here..." Shay said as she backed out of the rear of the Honda. "We need more room back there."

"What's wrong with him?" Kelly asked.

"He's got a broken collarbone...but I'm worried about a head injury. His pupils are unequal...and the right one is sluggish."

A cold wind ripped across the scene...blowing snow into Kelly's face. He quickly turned away and he wondered how he was gonna get Frankie out.

Very carefully...that's how. One piece at a time.

"Okay...Guys, I want two men on each side. Clarke...you and Capp attack it from the passenger side, Mills, you and me on this side. Get another ram...we gotta make this whole bigger."

Mills went to get the equipment.

"And I want someone standin' by with a fire extinguisher!" Severide called out.  
That engine could ignite at any moment.

They were out there all night long.

When he finally made it back to his apartment, Kelly felt like a block of ice. He didn't think he'd ever feel warm again.

But he threw an extra blanket on his bed and crawled underneath it.

As he shivered beneath the covers he replayed the whole scene in his mind.

Squad 3 had pulled eight people out of half a dozen vehicles. The one...the woman in the Honda was beyond saving. But they had gotten Frankie out in one piece. Just before they rolled out, they had gotten word that he was being transferred to Lurie Children's Hospital.

And he couldn't help but think of Mikayla. At least she was with the Garcia's now...and she was safe and warm...

The exhausted lieutenant finally closed his eyes.

In the morning he dragged himself out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen. He reached into the fridge and pulled out the OJ. He got the biggest glass he could find and filled it to the brim. Then he reached into the cabinet where Leslie kept her vitamins. He shook four Vitamin C's out of the bottle and helped himself to a mega-dose of Zinc.

He couldn't afford to get sick. But he already had a tickle in the back of his throat...and a pounding headache.

That's what you get for staying out all night long in sub-zero temperatures.

But he wasn't gonna let it stop him.

Today was Saturday...the day that he and Shay were supposed to spend with Mikayla.

Once Shay got up they'd check in with the Garcia's. And make their plans for the day.

And he needed to check in with Katie too...see how she was doing. Maybe she could come over later and meet the munchkin.

An hour later Shay emerged from her room...and took one look at her roommate.

"You look like death warmed over." she said.

"You're not lookin' so hot yourself..." he retorted.

She came over to him and laid her hand across his forehead.

"Well, you don't have a fever..."

Kelly pulled away.

"I'm fine." he insisted. "I'm gonna go call Mrs. Garcia...see what time we can get the munchkin."

"You still wanna do that?"

"Yes, I still wanna do that. We promised her..."

"I'm just saying maybe you should lay low for today..." she told him. "You've been going practically non-stop for a week now."

"I said I'm fine!"

There was nothing on God's green Earth that was going to get him to go back on his promise to Mikayla.

"Kelly!" Mikayla squealed when he walked through the Garcia's door. "You comed!"

"I told you I would." he said. "I told you we'd spend the day together."

"What we gonna do?" she asked as he hoisted her up into his arms.

"Anything you want, Munchkin."

"Can we go to your house?"

"Sure...but let's make a stop first...we'll get some toys to play with."

"And ice-cweem? You said we have ice-cweem..."

"We'll get ice cream." he promised.

Mrs. Garcia bundled Mikayla in her new coat...and she had added snow pants, boots, and a scarf to the ensemble.

And she handed Kelly a brand new booster seat for the car.

"I'll bring her back after dinner..." he told her.

"Have fun, you two." Mrs. Garcia called after them as they headed out the door.

They made a stop at Target...Kelly's third of the week.

He lifted Mikayla into the cart and headed off toward the groceries...where he stocked up on PB&J...some potato chips...some cookies...and juice boxes.

"Don't forget ice-cweem!" Mikayla reminded him.

"We'll come back right before we leave...we don't want it to melt." he said.

"What kind do you like?"

"Chocolate! And 'binella! And 'trawberry! And Oreos! And..."

Kelly couldn't help but laugh..

"So in other words, all of 'em?"

Might as well buy all thirty-one flavors...

But Mikayla shook her head.

"No! Don't like gween ice cweem! And coffee ice-cweem's yucky! And 'betend ice-cweem gross!"

"Pretend ice-cream?" he asked.

The little girl nodded.

"The kind 'dat's good for you...'da skinny kind!" she said.

She made a face.

"'Dat kind's really yucky!"

Kelly laughed again.

"I gotcha...right there with you, Munchkin." he agreed. "Now whaddya say we find some toys?"

They picked play-doh...and coloring books...and some pink Legos...and Kelly couldn't believe he was doing this...but he bought two Barbies.

Shay was gonna give him hell for that.

He also bought some movies...the one with the little yellow guys...and Mikayla begged him till he picked up the one with the girl with the long hair...and then he grabbed one with little penguins...it looked cute...and it was only five bucks.  
Then they swung back to the food to get the ice cream...and a box of microwave popcorn.

You couldn't have movies without popcorn.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, faved, and followed! It's fun for us Lisa's to read your feedback. Hope you enjoy this one!**

* * *

Shay was waiting in the doorway for them.

"I thought you got lost!" she scolded.

"We goed to Target, Wes-wee!" Mikayla chirped happily. "We got toys...and moonies...and ice-cweem!"

Shay reached out to take some of the bags from Kelly.

"What'd you do? Drop a week's pay?" she whispered.

"It's fine..." he said. "I might need to borrow this month's rent..."

Leslie rolled her eyes at him.

"Nice try, Severide."

She turned back to Mikayla.

"You look like an Eskimo!" she said as she knelt down and began to unwind the scarf from the little girl's neck.

"What's a Eskimo?" Mikayla asked.

"That's someone who lives where it's really cold..." Kelly said. "All the time."

But Mikayla didn't care. As soon as Leslie got her out of her boots and snow pants she went pawing through the bags looking for her new Barbies.

"Look what Kelly boughted me!" she said as she ran over to Shay to show her the boxes. "Can you get 'em out?"

Shay smirked as she started to open the pink boxes...

"What?" Kelly asked.

"Nothing..." she replied. "Nothing at all."

You never knew when you'd need a little blackmail to hold over someone's head.

Kelly thought they'd have to get the Jaws of Life to get the damn Barbies out of their boxes. What was with all the damn twist-ties? Were they afraid the dolls were gonna escape?

"Kelly, which one you want?" asked Mikayla holding them out for Kelly to have first choice.

"I thought you and Shay were gonna play with 'em..." he said with trepidation.

He'd bought the Barbies...no one said anything about playing with 'em.

"But I wanna pway wif you..."

The bottom lip turned out in a little pout.

"Kelly...how can you say 'no' to that face?" Shay asked.

He couldn't.

He grabbed the red-headed Barbie and after a minute he thankfully managed to steer the munchkin away from the princess story she was cooking up. Then he started to make one up about a female firefighter trying to make squad. Shay couldn't keep from giggling as she watched the scene unfold before her very eyes...surreptitiously recording most of it on her phone until the two "forced" her to join in.

When the girls turned the play firehouse into a fairy castle, Kelly got out of the way. He grabbed one of the DVD's and unwrapped the plastic. His head was pounding again and he was ready to just sit his ass on the couch and watch some kid movie. The one with the yellow things looked okay.

"Don't wanna interrupt...but who's ready for this movie?" he said holding up the case, "And maybe some popcorn? If you're both good, I'll break out the ice cream."

"Me, me, me! Ice-cweem!" Mikayla screamed. The high pitch cut through Severide's head and he wondered if every dog in the neighborhood was gonna start barking.

"Well, I'm not poppin' it in till everyone's on the couch." he said fingers ready to slide the disc in.

The Barbies hit the hard wood floor and the girls scampered onto the sofa.

Kelly laughed as he set the DVD in the tray and slid it in. He crossed the floor to the big leather Lazy-boy and flopped down into it while the girls snuggled in beneath a knit blanket Shay's sister had made and then throw the quilt they had wrapped Mikayla in the night he'd found her.

He settled in to his favorite spot...but the munchkin was patting the spot next to her on the couch.

"Aaahh," he groaned pushing himself back up. "It's gonna be too hot for me in there with all those covers."

"Pweeeeeze," pleaded Mikayla patting more furiously.

When Shay added her big blue eyes to the mix, he knew he was done for. Next thing he knew, Kelly was sandwiched in between the two feeling like a sardine. It only took about a minute before he started sweating, more than he had been. The blanket was enough, but with the quilt on top…he was sure he'd have heat stroke in no time.

"Ice-cweem?" whispered Mikayla looking up at him with big blue eyes of her own.

"Ugghh," he groaned...glad for the excuse to get out of the pile. He pulled himself up...feeling like a cork being set free.

"I'll get it," offered Shay pushing him back down. "You don't look too good."

"Because I'm in a sauna," he answered. "Let me, I'm goin' back to the chair. You two are like a couple 'a little heaters."

Shay got up and followed him over to the kitchen area. She put the back of her hand to his forehead.

"You're hot."

"I'm fine." he growled... "Don't ruin this. You two had me squeezed in under a mountain of covers."

But he grabbed a bottle of Ibuprophen out of the cabinet and swallowed down four pills.

"Get back in your chair, grab my blanket." Leslie told him. "If you get worse, you're goin' to bed. You don't wanna get Mikayla sick."

"You my best friend or my mother?" he grumbled, going back to his chair and grabbing Shay's blanket.

"Good boy," called Shay.

'Bitch.' Kelly thought. Of course, he couldn't say it because of their four-year-old guest. As he settled in the chair Mikayla pouted a little…because he wasn't sitting with her. But Shay came back with the ice cream ...and then the minions came on the scene. Soon all three were laughing. Agnes reminded Kelly of someone in their house at the moment.

'This movie ain't half bad.' he thought.

Shay had deposited a mug of hot chocolate on the end table beside Kelly.

"Hey, where's my ice cream?" he asked, looking at the cup with a mound of marshmallows on top.

"Cold and sick don't go together," answered Shay matter of factly, taking a huge bite of cookies and cream.

"Kelly's sick?" asked Mikayla.

She jumped off the couch and scrambled up onto Kelly's lap, snuggling into his chest. She touched his forehead with her fingertips trying to mimic when her grandmother would check her little head for fever.

"Nope. Shay's a worry wart," said Kelly smiling.

"What's a woo-way wawt?" she asked.

But before Shay could retort...

"Wes-wee and I take care of you," she said. And with that she snuggled in deeper, leaving Severide feeling like he was the luckiest guy on the planet.

"Yes, we will," agreed Shay as she shoved a heaping spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"And you get to meet another one of my favorite girls tonight," added Kelly.

"Who? Who? Who?" Mikayla wanted to know.

Her voice went back up to that high pitched decibel...and right in Severide's ear.

He winced...the medicine hadn't quite kicked in yet and the sound was like a knife plunging through his head.

"My sister, Katie, is comin' over to cook for us." he said...deliberately making his voice quieter...hoping Munchkin would take the hint "She's almost a chef, and she's gonna make us somethin' really good."

"I'm gonna wuv her," said Mikayla.

She was already accepting Kelly's sister as family.

"Who your other fave-wit girls?" she asked.

"Well, there's Shay, of course, and Dawson. And…hmmmm, Mrs. Mills can cook too. And…ummmm…" he teased.

"Meeeeeee!" she screamed in Kelly's ear again.

"That's right..." he laughed. "Now let's be quiet and watch the movie."

They finished up the rest of the movie and both Shay and Kelly had to admit it was pretty good, really good…funny. The fact that Agnes reminded them of another little girl didn't hurt.

Katie showed up as the credits were rolling.

Mikayla and Katie were fast friends after about two minutes.

'Hell, everyone was as far as this little girl was concerned.' thought Kelly.

He'd have to work on that a bit. Being a little wary could go a long way in keeping someone safe. But, damn, she was cute.

Watching Katie and her little sous chef buzz around the kitchen was more than adorable. Kelly's sister had such an easy smile and laugh, how could anyone resist her? She was making "gourmet" grilled cheese sandwiches with homemade tomato soup. She'd baked some focaccia bread earlier, and Shay was already dipping into that.

"How can you even eat a bite after finishing off that mountain of ice cream?" he wondered aloud. "The ice cream you wouldn't let me have any of!"

"You don't eat ice cream when you're sick. Do you Mikayla?" Katie said.

She sounded like a mom too. Jesus, they were all in on it

Mikayla shook her head 'no'.

Kelly Severide knew when he was outnumbered. And he wouldn't have it any other way.


	12. Chapter 12

Kelly was just glad to be over whatever the bug he had had was. Whatever he had picked up had really knocked him on his ass.

He was also ready to be done with winter.

The city was trapped in a vicious cycle. They were caught in the grips of freezing cold temperatures and below zero wind-chill factors for days on end. But then when mercury crawled up into double digits...they got another six inches of snow dumped on them.

Plows moved up and down the streets shoving banks of snow up against the cars parked on the streets. Then people had to come and dig themselves out and they threw the snow back into the street...where it froze.

The side streets were worse. Some of them hadn't even been touched.

It made for the worst possible conditions for firefighting. Every crew in the city had been going non-stop since New Years. Medical runs were at the top of the list...car accidents were a close second. Snow and ice...a severe shortage of salt..and ten and twelve foot snow drifts blocking visibility. There were plenty of fires too...mostly the result of space heaters placed too close to beds and blankets.

Kelly had been going non-stop since he got back to work. He'd called off for two shifts and even after that he still felt like Truck 81 had run over him...and then backed up for another go.

He hadn't been able to see Mikayla in over two weeks.

The munchkin was settled in at the Garcia's. Ever since they had reached an understanding about the "go-gurt"...things had been just peachy.

He was back on shift when Antonio Dawson and Detective Lindsay showed up at Station 51.

"What's up?" Kelly asked, getting out of his seat to meet them. "What's goin' on?"  
"Someplace we can talk?" Antonio said. "We got some more news..."

"Yeah...we can go in here..."

Kelly motioned for the detectives to go into the briefing room. Then he got Shay's attention and cocked his head to one side indicating to her to follow him.

He closed the door behind them.

"What's goin' on?" he asked again.

Antonio sighed.

"They're fast-tracking Mikayla's case." he said. "The cousin in Oregon...DCFS approved her. She'll be here the end of the week."

"Okay..."

Kelly still wasn't sure where this was headed.

"She's planning to take Mikayla back to Portland." Detective Lindsay told them gently.

"What!? No!" Kelly said. "Can she do that?"

He felt like someone had just punched him in the gut.

Munchkin...moving to Oregon? All the way across the friggin' country?

No...it couldn't happen. He couldn't let it.

"She's the kid's family...she's been awarded custody...she can take her wherever she wants." Antonio said matter-of-factly.

"We're her family..." Kelly said. "We're more of a family to her than some cousin she's never met!"

His mind was racing.

"No...she can't take her." he decided. "We'll get a lawyer."

"Severide, you don't have a leg to stand on." Dawson told him. "You'd just be throwin' your money away...and pissin' into the wind."

Kelly wiped his hand down his face. He knew Antonio was right.

But that didn't mean he had to like it.

He felt Shay slip her arm around him, and he turned, looking down to see the tears in her eyes. Shay was hurting as bad as he was.

He opened his arms and his best friend stepped into his embrace and buried her face against his chest.

Kelly could feel the hot tears through his t-shirt.

They really only had one more day with her. One more day before the cousin arrived...and then as soon as the paperwork was in order, Mikayla was getting on a plane.

It was too cold to do anything...to go anywhere...so Kelly brought the munchkin back to his apartment.

"What we gonna do, Kelly?" she asked. "Is Katie comin' to pway? She pwomised to make me 'bis-gettis."

"I don't know..." Kelly said. "I can call her."

Mikayla was already running across the room to the basket where Leslie had put all the toys Kelly had bought her on the trip to Target. That way they would be right there the next time the little girl came over to play.

And Shay had surreptitiously added a few more items. A purse...and some play make-up from the Dollar Store...a Mrs. Potato Head...and for Kelly, a box full of cars and fire trucks.

"So you don't feel like you're trapped in "The Vagina Monologues"..." she had told him.

When he had picked Mikayla up from the Garcia's he asked Mr. Garcia if they had told her she was gonna be moving away. The man had shaken his head...they hadn't had the heart to tell her yet. The poor kid had been through so much upheaval in the past month or so...now they were going to uproot her again.

Kelly swallowed hard as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it over the back of a chair. Then he bent over to pick up Mikayla's jacket...and her hat...and her mittens...and her scarf...that she had shed in her race for the toys.

"Kelly...can we have ice-cweem?" she asked. "Pweeze?"

"Sure we can, Munchkin." he said. "Just as soon as Leslie gets back from the store."

He pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text to tell his roommate to make sure she stocked up on the ice cream.

Mikayla smiled...and Kelly felt his heart clench in his chest.

Damn it...how could he say good-bye to this little angel? And never see her again?

He crossed the room and knelt down beside Mikayla.

"Let's get your snow pants off..." he said.

He grabbed her under the arms and stood her in front of him. He released the shoulder straps and pulled the pants down a little. Then he realized he had to sit her down to take off her boots.

As he pulled the pink moon boots off a little sock came off with them and Mikayla laughed as he fished it out and wiggled it back onto her foot.

"Dat tickles, Kelly!" she squealed.

"It does?" he said as he reached out to tickle her side. "It does?"

The little girl's laughter was like music as it echoed off the walls and filled the entire apartment.

"Hey, Mikayla..." he asked. "Did you...ever have any family visit when you lived with your granny?"

She shook her head 'no'.

"No. I don't gots no Mommy...or no Daddy...or no bwothers an' sisters."

"How about aunts and uncles? Cousins?"

"What's dat?"

She didn't know what those words meant.

God...what a lonely existence they must have had.

How was she gonna move across the country with someone she'd never even met? Someone she didn't even know was related to her?

"Those are more people in a family...besides moms and dads and grannies." he explained.

But Mikayla wasn't paying attention. She was back looking at the toys.

"Here..." Kelly said, reaching for the box with the Matchbox cars and trucks. "Let me show you something..."

At least this was something he knew...something in his wheelhouse.

Unlike the Barbies and the make-up.

He fished out the fire trucks as Mikayla settled on his lap.

"This is fire truck...and I used to work on one of these a long, long time ago..." he told her.

Then he held up the Squad.

"And now I ride around in one of these..."

When Shay got back from the market they were both sprawled out on their bellies racing the cars across the hardwood floor.

She picked up her foot just as one came speeding by.

Kelly looked like he was about five...he was having so much fun.

"I beated you!" Mikayla cried happily. "I beated you again!"

"I'll get you next time!" he promised.

"Hey..." Shay said. "How 'bout you help me put this ice-cream away?"

Mikayla jumped up and came running.

"Ice cweem!" she squealed. "Kelly said I could have some!"

"After lunch..." Shay promised. "I got you chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs!"

"For Kelly too?" Mikayla asked.

She couldn't leave her best friend out of this adventure...chomping the heads off dinosaurs.

"Kelly too." Shay told her.

Once the food was put away Kelly reached out and took Shay by the arm. He led her a little further away from their guest...and pitching his voice so only she could hear...

"Who's gonna tell her about the cousin?" he asked. "She doesn't even know what a 'cousin' is!"

"I don't think that's our place, Kelly." she said. "We should let the Garcia's do it...or Antonio."

But Kelly knew that wouldn't play out well. He and Shay had to be there. They had to find a way to reassure her it was going to be all right.

He just wished he could be sure himself.


	13. Chapter 13

Shay and Severide didn't go to 51 the next day. Chief Boden had been more than understanding throughout the whole ordeal. Surprisingly understanding. Kelly figured it had somethin' to do with his own family situation, rarely getting to see his son.

"Do what you need to do." He'd told them.

The cousin, aunt, whatever the hell she was would be in at 2:00 the next day.

Kelly couldn't believe this was happening. In a day.

The Garcia's volunteered to pick her up at the airport, insisting she stay at their house knowing it would be easier on the little girl.

"She sounds really nice on the phone," reassured Mrs. Garcia, trying to convince herself as well as the young friends who'd become Mikayla's family.

They'd all decided on the phone to introduce her to the munchkin as Aunt Jo. Full name Josephine Elizabeth Reid, age 51, retired nurse, no kids. She was really the daughter of a cousin of the grandmother, had grown up so close to the old woman, but time, distance, and life creating years of no contact.

They'd told Mikayla a little of what was happening the previous day when they'd done the drop off at the Garcia's. Enough so she wouldn't be shell shocked, but not the whole story.

"Your Aunt Jo wants to meet you so much! She's flying all the way from Oregon to see you!" Shay said with an over abundance of enthusiasm.

"Why does she wanna meets me? She don't know me," asked Mikayla suspiciously.

It was a total one-eighty for the little girl who made friends with anyone and everyone in about two point two seconds. And Kelly wondered if she was sensing the nerves of her new "family" gathered around her.

"Cause she's your family, so she already loves you. It's just like Katie 'n me. I didn't even know about her till a couple months ago...but the second I met her, I already loved her." Kelly tried to rationalize.

"I hopes she's like Katie! She never made me bis-gettis," she pouted.

Katie couldn't get off work at the last minute, even when Kelly told her it might be their last night with Mikayla.

"Next time," said Kelly.

Shay's eyes got bigger and she glared at Kelly, telling him to shush before he made promises he couldn't keep.

Now the aunt had arrived, and they were heading to the Garcia's for a barbecue. Mr. Garcia bragged he was a grill master, and spent all morning nursing some big piece of meat freezing his ass off under the canopy of his deck. Not exactly barbecuing weather.

His wife said it was his way of staying busy and not facing the arrival of the woman who was taking Mikayla away.

"Now you remember why we finally said we were getting too old for this?" said Mrs. Garcia wrapping her arms around her husband who was at his smoker..

He just shook his head.

Aunt Jo's carry-on bag was full of presents for the little munchkin. She'd done a great job for someone who didn't have any kids. Turns out she had been a pediatric nurse, loving kids was definitely a job requirement.

It also turned out that Mikayla could be bribed. She gave her new aunt a hug that rivaled one of those wrestling moves that put your opponent to sleep.

"Aunt Jo, what's in your bag?" asked the little angel knowing full well it was all for her.

"Buying Mikayla's affection? Really?" hissed Kelly in Shay's ear.

She squeezed his hand with super human strength telling him to be quiet.

After all the money he'd dropped on toys and everything...it was like the pot calling the kettle black.

The interrogation was about to start with Kelly going from friendly fireman to full on investigator.

But "Aunt Jo" had a great story.

She had them when she told them about a little girl she had treated on the oncology floor. She talked about how the eleven year old was battling a form of leukemia and had to be in the hospital at Christmas. Well, Jo was head of the Christmas Angels program at St. Luke's, the hospital she worked at for over twenty years. They had caroling, treats for those that didn't have dietary restrictions, and Santa even visited bringing bags and bags of presents. The little girl. Catherine, had begun the day so quiet, because her family decided to spend most of it at home with the younger kids. By the day's end, she was leading the caroling pushing around the younger children in their wheelchairs.

That was over twelve years ago. Catherine was a beautiful young woman who'd spent every Christmas at St. Luke's even when she went into remission at age thirteen and never spent another night in the oncology ward. Jo said she was never prouder than when she went to Catherine's graduation ceremony from nursing school.

And Aunt Jo won over her harshest critic when she suggested that they look at Mikayla's trip to Oregon as a trial period.

"So you don't think you're ready for this?" asked Kelly in a hushed tone.

Mr. Garcia had taken Mikayla into the kitchen to help him refill all the bird feeders, a totally unnecessary task, considering it was the dead of winter, but it was a good distraction.

"Not at all, Mr. Severide. But this is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I never thought I would be blessed with a child at my old age." she said laughing. "But I welcome the challenge. I just want to make sure Mikayla will feel the same."

"Call me Kelly," said the lieutenant grudgingly admitting to himself that this woman was just about damn near perfect.

Mikayla was used to a great granny raising her. This woman wasn't nearly as old, but she also wasn't a spring chicken. It was the perfect match.

The little munchkin whispered in Kelly's ear,  
"You was right about "fam-wee"."

She already "wuved" Aunt Jo.

He grudgingly had to admit to himself that it wasn't solely based on the truckload of presents. No, when she settled into Jo's lap listening to the woman tell some story about a country mouse and a city mouse, he could feel their little angel flying away to Oregon.

Aunt Jo decided to stay almost a week saying she could use a vacation and Chicago was the perfect place to explore.

Kelly knew she was just being nice...the damn city was still in practically blizzard conditions.

She spent most of her days holed up at the Garcia's house or at Kelly and Shay's place.

"Kelly, Aunt Jo said I'm goin on bay-cation to her house. She said we would visit whenever I wants to."

Mikayla's big blue eyes searched Kelly's like she was looking for verification this was true.

It just about broke his heart into a million pieces, but he said,  
"That sounds great! And maybe Shay and I can come to visit sometime real soon. How does that sound?"


	14. Chapter 14

No matter how badly he wanted to...Kelly couldn't stop time. And all too soon it was time for them to say good-bye to Mikayla.

The last month or so had been a non-stop roller coaster ride of emotions...starting the moment he had found her pawing through the garbage looking for something to eat. He never imagined that it was possible to fall so completely in love in absolutely no time flat. But that's what had happened. He was gone...hook, line and sinker...before he ever bought her the second cookie.

As much as he hated to admit it, Aunt Jo was the best thing for the munchkin. She was caring and nurturing...and even though she didn't have kids herself, she had a ton of experience...a damn sight more than him and Shay.

Jo was absolutely all for them staying in touch and visiting. She recognized what a strong bond Mikayla had developed with them in the short time they had known each other.

Now all the paper work was complete...all the "i's" dotted, all the "t's" crossed...and the ink was dry on the papers.

And they were standing in the terminal at O'Hare. Mikayla had her new pink back-pack with the wheels on the bottom that Kelly had bought for her and stuffed with coloring books and dot-to-dot books...stories...sticker books...Polly Pockets...and anything else he could cram in there to entertain the munchkin on a four hour plane ride.

They were standing at the window watching the planes out on the tarmac...watching the luggage being loaded into the cargo hold.

Kelly was dreading the moment he'd have to let go of Mikayla's little hand.

"Kelly?" she asked. "Did you ever go on a air-pwane 'fore?"

"Yeah..." he answered. "Lot's a times...why?"

"I never goed on a air-pwane." she said.

"You'll like it...trust me." he said. "Just make sure you chew some gum when it's time to take off."

"I don' gots no gum..."

"Sure you do." he told her. "I put a bunch in the front pocket of your bag."

He squeezed her hand to get her to look up...and he smiled at her.

"I got your back, Munchkin."

"Attention, passengers. United Flight 231, with non-stop service from Chicago to Denver...then continuing on to Portland is now boarding. At this time we'd like to invite parties with small children and those who might need a few extra minutes to get settled to board now."

This was the moment he had been dreading all week long.

"Mikayla...it's time to go, Sweetie." Aunt Jo said gently. "We need to say good-bye to Kelly and Leslie..."

Mikayla let go of Kelly's hand and ran over to Shay.

The little girl wrapped her arms around Leslie's legs and squeezed her tight.

"Bye-bye Wes-wee..." she said, her voice quivering. "I wuv you..."

Shay squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment, willing herself not to cry.

She disentangled herself from Mikayla's grip so she could get down to the munchkin's level.

"Bye, Mikayla...I'm gonna miss you...so much."

"I wuv you..." Mikayla said again.

"I love you too, Sweetie. I'll always love you."

Reluctantly, she released the little girl...so Kelly could say his good-byes.

He dropped to his knees in front of his little munchkin. And he reached into his jacket pocket and took out the little Matchbox Squad.

"You remember what this is, Munchkin?" he asked.

Mikayla nodded.

"It's your fire truck you ride in."

"That's right...you take it with you...okay?" he said.

"You don' need it?" she asked.

Kelly chuckled...and swallowed hard.

He was about two seconds from completely losing it.

"I've got a big one, Silly..." he said.

Then he reached into his other pocket...and pulled out the Jitterbug phone the Garcia's had bought. The one she had insisted have his number programmed in as "home".

"And you remember how to use this, right?" he asked.

Again, the little girl nodded.

"Well, you remember to call "home" every day...okay?"

Mikayla nodded one last time...her big blue eyes filling up with tears...her lower lip trembling as she launched herself at Kelly...throwing her arms around his neck.

"I wuv you Kelly..." she said. "You're my bestest friend in da whole world..."

Kelly felt the hot tears running down his own face.

"I love you too, Munchkin..." he said, his voice choked with emotion. "I love you too."

Aunt Jo gently pried Mikayla away from him...and Kelly slowly got to his feet.

Taking the little girl by the hand, Jo led her toward the door that led to the tunnel...to the plane that would carry her far, far away.

Mikayla looked back over her shoulder one last time...and Kelly waved to her...and then she was gone.

Kelly wiped the tears from his face, and threw his arm around Leslie's shoulders. She was crying unashamedly.

Leslie wrapped her arms around her best friend...and together they walked from the terminal toward the parking garage.


	15. Epilogue

The apartment seemed so cold and dark when they got home.

Slowly, Kelly shrugged off his jacket and hung it over the back of a chair...then he crossed the room to the basket of toys.

Mikayla insisted on leaving them so he and "Wes-wee" would have something to play with.

Shay came up behind him and wrapped him in a hug. As bad as she felt about the little girl leaving, she knew it was a hundred times worse for him. That's just the way Kelly was. He might come off big and tough...but really, he was the biggest Teddy Bear she'd ever seen.

"Come here..." she whispered. "I've got something to show you."

She took him by the hand and led him over to the couch. She curled up in the corned and pulled Kelly down beside her.

"What?" he asked...suddenly feeling completely wiped out.

"Here..."

Shay dug into the pocket of her hoodie...and fished out her phone. She started playing with it...and in a few seconds she had what she was looking for. Then she handed it to her roommate.

Kelly gave her a strange look as he took the phone and stared at the screen.

He saw himself...and Mikayla.

Leslie reached over and pressed the arrow to play the video and Mikayla's laughter suddenly filled the room.

Kelly couldn't help but chuckle himself as he watched the video Shay had shot of him playing Barbies with the munchkin.

And when it was over...he cued it up...and played it again.


End file.
